Dane Cook Skipped His ‘SNL’ Audition Because He Had a Panic Attack in Front of 30 Rock

“I ruined everything.”

Dane Cook says he was just a few jokes away from being cast Saturday evening live.

“On the way to my audition at SNLI had a full blown panic attack,” Cook said on a recent episode of the Fly on the wall podcast with show alumni David Spade and Dana Carvey. “I sat on a bench outside of Rockefeller Plaza. And I didn’t go in. I actually called my manager. I said… ‘I can’t do it.’ And he says, why? They’re all waiting for you. They’re looking for something to fill this void.

The comic said it wasn’t very long after Adam Sandler left the legendary sketch in 1995 – and they were transitioning into a new era. He was aware that people associated with the television staple were present in the audience for some of his stand-up sets, as if watching him.

“And me, I blew it that day,” Cook told the former cast members.

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THE Good luck Chuck The star explained that her anxiety about the audition was more about what would happen next than anything else.

“I also knew from a few friends who had been on the show that it was more confrontational, and I was very beta at that point,” Cook recalls. “And I was like, I’m not going to be able to fight for sketches. I can barely, you know, get my food order out… for a waiter at lunch. I’m not going to be able to survive SNL“.

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He was initially interested in starring in the Lorne Michaels-created series, because he had learned through experience without it or an HBO special, you “weren’t invited to the party.”

After what he calls his “bench moment,” Cook found that his management and agent were unhappy with him. But what he felt was worse.

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“I really felt like I had let myself down,” said Cook, who has watched the meteoric careers of comedians such as Jimmy Fallon, who joined Saturday evening live in 1998.

He said he continued to work and turned to social media to promote himself. It ultimately worked, allowing him to achieve huge success in stand-up and starring in comedy films such as Stuck on you in 2003, 2005 Waiting for… and the following year Employee of the month.

He was summoned to the scene of his panic attacks to welcome SNL in 2005 and 2006, and was able to get inside the building each time.

Hear Cook’s story about the Fly on the wall episode above. SNL returns Saturday, December 7 at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC with host Paul Mescal and musical guest Shaboozey.